LALS Students
Grace Twardy ’16
As a Global Studies and Spanish double major, I feel like the LALS minor complemented my studies perfectly. I’ve always been interested in learning about different cultures and how communities develop around the world, especially in Spanish-speaking countries.
Knowing Spanish helped me to understand more about Latin America through a different perspective, but these courses, as a whole, allowed to me understand the social contexts in which the people of Latin America come from and the history behind our relationship. I was able to take advantage of several opportunities to connect with people in the region. I was a co-leader of a service-learning trip to a rural community in Northern Nicaragua that focused on the power of storytelling and empowering youth in the community. Storytelling allows us to empathize and build community, and I carried this desire to collect and share stories on another service-learning trip to Tijuana, Mexico, where we were able to see and hear what it was like to live along the border and the experiences of those who tried to cross.
The LALS minor has helped me become more culturally sensitive and aware of our southern neighbor and the importance of strengthening our relationship with those communities. Working for a nonprofit study abroad organization (CIEE) has given me the opportunity to share my international experiences with prospective students and to motivate them to study abroad to gain these same values that the Latin American Studies minor has instilled in me.
Emily Kennedy ’15
The LALS minor was inspiring for me because it gave me the opportunity to learn about the important 
history of our southern neighbors and the role our country played in this history — the good and the bad. In this globalized world, and especially in the U.S.A — a country made up of immigrants, it is almost necessary to explore other cultures to learn more about ourselves. LALS pushed me to study abroad in a country less trafficked by study abroad goers and to learn more about the complicated and turbulent history of Argentina.
As a Research Fulbrighter living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I know that what I learned about culture, history, politics and the region has helped me interpret my experience here and given me a greater appreciation for the culture and the people that I meet.
Leah Towe ’15
For me, the LALS minor was the perfect intersection of my Political Science major and Spanish minor. I’ve always been intrigued by Latin American politics, the culture, the history, and the Spanish language, thus LAS seemed like the completion to this trifecta of my studies at Providence College. The Latin American Studies minor also encouraged and inspired my Political Science Honors Thesis titled “Behind the Smokescreen: An Examination of US Involvement in Colombia.”
Brian Sweeney ’15
The reason I chose to minor in LALS was because I found it to be the perfect unifier for the different things I had been studying. It allowed me to explore a part of the world that has always fascinated me. The minor, and my interest in the region, was a big part of my choice to study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
My semester in Buenos Aires tied together so many of the things that I had been studying at PC. I think my LALS classes really prepared me for that experience, and have help shaped what I want to do now that I’ve graduated. Maintaining my Spanish ability is incredibly important to me, and I hope to return to Latin America as soon as I possibly can.
Kate Douglas ’15
After spending a semester in Costa Rica and time in Mexico, I realized there was so much to learn about our neighbors in the Americas. The LALS minor allowed me to explore Latin American culture and history through a variety of fields of study.
Being part of the LALS program encouraged me to pursue my current position as an intern for a health care organization in Guatemala. The minor opened up opportunities and helped shape my path after Providence College.
